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EPA SETTLES WITH D.G.O'BRIEN FOR NEARLY $100,000 FOR ENVIRONMENTAL VIOLATIONS

Release Date: 03/04/1997
Contact Information: Alice Kaufman, EPA Press Office, (617) 918-1064

Boston - D.G.O'Brien, Inc. of Seabrook, NH, will invest $63,450 in a new cleaning system for its electroplating and glass cleaning operations as part of a settlement with the New England office of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for violations of federal environmental laws. EPA cited the company for numerous violations of hazardous waste management and clean water laws. The settlement also requires D.G. O'Brien to pay a $47,502 environmental penalty. The company estimates that it will reduce by 15,000 gallons per year the amount of wastewater discharged to the Hampton and Seabrook wastewater treatment plants, and reduce by at least 60% its disposal of sodium hydroxide, nitric acid, hydrofluoric aicd and hydrochloric acid.

"Not only will D.G. O'Brien be able to reduce the volume of wastewater going to the local treatment plant, it will reduce some of the toxic constituents in the discharge waters as well," said John P. DeVillars. "This is a clear example of how, through enforcement, a company can come back into compliance and then go beyond by installing pollution prevention technology."

D.G. O'Brien, located in Seabrook, New Hampshire, is in an ecologically sensitive coastal area, and in an area of a municipal water supply. The company manufactures electrical and optical connectors used in research vehicles, submarines and offshore recovery systems. Part of the manufacturing process involves machining, deburring, electroplating, welding, spraying, assembling, pressure testing and electro-polishing metal parts.

EPA and the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services inspected the facility in March of 1994 and found numerous violations of the federal Resource conservation and Recovery Act and the Clean Water Act. Violations included failure to: properly label and mark hazardous waste containers; to keep containers closed during storage and in good condition; have a complete emergency contingency plan; adequately train employees working with hazardous waste; conduct weekly inspections; and properly determine the waste identification prior to disposal.